Quoth the Raven: Nevermore
by BelovedShadow
Summary: Sasuke couldn't exactly say he was excited for the opportunity to work at his family's company. That is, until he discovers that the distant relative left in charge of things has some kind of otherworldly pull over him. MadaSasu Modern AU. Cross-posted to Ao3, where all Explicit sexual content will be redirected.


**A/N: This was meant to be a one-shot but somehow the plot kept getting more and more complicated so now it's been split up into chapters and you have to deal with my sporadic update patterns, sorry!**

 **Anyways, Enjoy!**

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The building was _tall_ , and glistened metallically in the moonlight. The sheen glass of sleek windowpanes had a mirror-like quality, reflecting the sparkling colorful array of the city – refracted light at its most _refined_. There was a certain reverence to it all, standing higher than the billboards that already towered over busy streets; the stony faces of commercial models staring down at humanity like the eyes of God. And up, up above all of it – atop that tallest, _tallest_ building; reaching straight into the heavens, was that glowing neon red, a shocking beauty against the inky black sky – the slinking up and down sans-serif font spelling out one single word: Uchiha.

Of course, to Sasuke, it had always just been the building his father worked in. By the time he was nearing the end of secondary school, it was also the building his brother worked in; and today – at age twenty, with his hair still damp from his morning shower, and the crisp freshly starched white of his button down tucked neatly into his suit-bottoms – it was becoming the building that _he_ worked in.

It had never been something that he got to decide for himself, but he couldn't really be bothered to mind. The family business was one that was held in high regard all over their city. Hell, all over their _country_. He would be an ungrateful idiot not to take the position there when his father offered it to him. Of course, he would have preferred at least one more month or so of freedom after the completion of his education, but that was apparently not an option either.

At least he'd escaped having to ride in with his father. Fugaku had just begun a yearlong sabbatical the month prior, which was apparently why it was so imperative that Sasuke start _right now_ rather than giving himself a post University vacation. One would think that having already obtained a four-year degree at age twenty, a break would be in order – but considering Itachi had been well and thoroughly through with his education by age eighteen, it was hard for the younger Uchiha brother to catch a break.

"Straighten your tie, Sasuke," Itachi's voice demanded, cutting right through Sasuke's thoughts as if he'd known that they included him, "I hope you don't think you're catching a break having father out of the office, I assure you the alternative is far worse,"

This inflicted a reaction of both shock and confusion in Sasuke, who had well and truthfully assumed that without Fugaku around, Itachi was in charge, "Is that alternative not _you_?"

The look he received was response enough, but it didn't stop Itachi from answering the question, even as his hands came forward to Sasuke's tie himself, the crimson silk looking like it was _made_ to be against Itachi's perfect complexion, not strung haphazardly around Sasuke's much more pasty and lanky form.

"Of course not, I'm not even on the _board_ , why would I be acting CEO?" He finished his adjustments to Sasuke's tie with an affirmative nod and then picked up his briefcase from where it'd been abandoned on the hard marble tile of their kitchen floor, smoothing his suit jacket down after another moment of thought and then turning from the room with a clear silent instruction for his little brother to follow, "The position is being temporarily handed back to the former CEO, now chairman. He's a distant relative of ours. You might have met him before. I can't remember if you were there or not the last time we went out for dinner,"

Sasuke would bet half of his trust fund that he was most definitely not there. School hadn't come _easily_ to him the way it always had for Itachi. He took great pride in having graduated early, but it had taken a major toll on his time and it was doubtful that he'd attended any event at all that wasn't presented as absolutely mandatory during the last eighteen months.

"Yeah, that's a _no_." He concluded decisively, stepping into Itachi's car when the valet came around to open the passenger side door for him and buckling his seatbelt with a soft click, "Shame we have more family business lunches than family _reunions_. I can't safely say I've met anyone on the board at all," He surmised, giving a heavy eye roll and an uncomfortable frown as Itachi's TESLA launched forward. His brother drove like a _maniac_ , and the fact that his car was near silent didn't serve any comfort. Sasuke was left in desperation for at least the small warning of hearing the engine rev up before takeoff. Alas, this was not a privilege he was allowed unless he rode in his own car with his own driver.

"That's despicable, Otouto. You realize the entire board _is_ made up of our relatives, yes? I don't understand how you can expect anyone to stop treating you like the outcast if you insist on digging your heels so firmly into that exact position," Itachi lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, exhaling the toxic smoke into the car without bothering to roll a window down. With a passive-aggressive stare, Sasuke pulled back the sunroof and decided in a declarative moment of innermost reflection that this would be the first and last time he rode to work with his brother.

"I'm not the outcast because I'm digging my heels into _anything_ , asshole. I'm the outcast because unlike _some people_ I wasn't quoting Nietzsche at age four," He waved a hand in front of his face, batting the smoke back in Itachi's direction and gripping down on the door handle so hard that his knuckles turned white when Itachi ran right through a red light and changed lanes six times in approximately forty-five seconds.

"It was Plato, not Nietzsche. Honestly, it's like you don't know a single thing about philosophy, Otouto. Nietzsche? At four? How _morbid_ that would be. I was still eating fucking cheerios for breakfast, I don't think that the whole _God is dead_ thing would have gone over well with our parents," Itachi had always had a way of making Sasuke feel very stupid and small no matter how good his grades were or how much he told himself he was growing up. He crossed his arms over his chest and sulked for the remainder of the car ride. Luckily, due to his brother's reckless driving, it was not a very long one.

The valet at the door of the building looked like he'd been catching Itachi's keys as they were tossed carelessly in his general direction for much, much too long, and Sasuke wished he'd thought to bring some cash along with him so that he could tip. As it was, he had only his card and didn't care _quite enough_ to make any real effort on the young man's behalf. Itachi walked into the lobby like he owned absolutely everything and there was something so gloriously _expensive_ about him that for a single flash of a single moment, he understood why his brother was so popular with the ladies. It was a weird thought to have and he shook it out of his head with more uncomfortable disgust than he felt when he thought of _himself_ with ladies – which said something. Sasuke figured most days that the only blessing of being the second born son was that he was free to be gay in peace without the worry of having to constantly go out with girls that his parents selected for him like Itachi did. Of course, Itachi felt no shame in fucking on the first date and forgetting their names almost immediately after orgasm, so he supposed that was a more symbiotic arrangement than it seemed at a distance.

"I'm taking you up to HR for your check in, and then the secretary there will escort you to orientation," Itachi recited, jabbing impatiently at the up button on the elevator as if the stainless steel itself had personally offended him, "Don't mingle with the interns. I understand how much this _pains_ you to acknowledge, but your last name is actually important here. _Act like it_ ," The doors finally opened, and it wasn't until they were enclosed in the more confined space that Sasuke realized Itachi had never put out the cigarette. He glanced pointedly to the large no smoking sign, but upon reading it – and noting the 22,000 Yen fine for smoking _in_ the elevator, it couldn't even be surprised at Itachi's open disregard.

He spent that kind of money on _dinner_.

The butt was dropped onto the elevator floor and snuffed out beneath the sole of Itachi's shoe, and Sasuke tried to be as subtle as possible when he silently picked it up as they stepped out. It landed in the first trash can he saw with a quiet sound of impact as it hit the paper already in the wire bin and Itachi scoffed, not for the first time making Sasuke feel as if he had eyes on the back of his head.

"This is Konan, she's our director of Human Resources," Itachi introduced with little to no interest, taking hold of a clipboard that someone approached and handed him without another word. He read over it quickly, initialed, signed, and then passed it back, looking up just in time to miss the way that Konan, their director of Human Resources, couldn't seem to stop glancing at the studious pout of his bottom lip. Sasuke, of course, an avid ogler of men himself, did not fail to note it. Interesting. So there really _was_ a vagina having person working for them that Itachi had managed not to penetrate yet. He wondered if she knew that was more impressive a feat than actually having him.

"It's good to meet you, Konan," He drawled out, holding out his hand in what couldn't be mistaken for anything but a demand of her full attention. Itachi seemed proud of this brute enforcement and that made Sasuke half satisfied and half sick to his stomach, "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, I'll be starting in the executive department today. But, I'm sure you already knew that. It's your job to be informed on these things, isn't it?"

Her smile wasn't even slightly nervous, but her focus remained half-there until Itachi excused himself to go abuse the buttons of the elevator once more. She gave a polite bow, and introduced herself again, escorting him to her office where she went over basic codes of conduct, gave him his offer letter to sign, and offered a brief summary of what he should expect at the upcoming orientation.

"You'll have a few minutes to settle into your new office. It's in the presidential suite, just beside your father's. You've been to that part of the building before, yes?" It was an insult disguised as an honor, and they both knew it. Of course, Fugaku had placed Sasuke right beside him. It was a punishment, plain and simple. He was no Itachi, after all. There was no guarantee that he would succeed here, and so he had to be placed in a _location_ that held power rather than a _position_ with any form of genuine substance. Not to mention, this way his father could keep a constant eye on him. Then again, his father wasn't _here_. He supposed he'd have some peace and quiet for a good while, which was nice. The opportunity to prove himself while out from under Fugaku's watchful gaze wasn't one that he'd take lightly.

"I've been to every part of this building," He retorted somewhat coldly, his annoyance at his placement showing despite the attempt he made to hide it, "I can make my way there myself, thank you. How long do I have before I need to be in the conference room for orientation?"

Quite longer than he expected, as it turned out. Not two minutes after he'd taken a seat in his office, he received a phone call letting him know that orientation had been abruptly cancelled – due to a conflicting reservation of the space. It was an odd revelation to uncover, as he was pretty sure that conference room was only used _for_ orientations, and he couldn't imagine it being overbooked. He wondered if this was some kind of test, to see if he'd take charge and get to the bottom of things. He hoped not, because at that moment he wanted to take charge of some _breakfast_. Large conferences equated free food, and without the promise of any in his near future, he was already mulling over what to order. He should, perhaps, have been mulling over how to achieve productivity on one's first day of work before ever having any official explanation of one's job.

The focus on such an unproductive goal made him almost jump out of his seat when he heard a loud knock on his office door, and he was ashamed immediately at the high and meek tone of his voice as he shoved his phone (which had been open to a food delivery app) into the top drawer of his desk and uttered a surprised, "C-Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Adonis himself, and Sasuke wanted to _pray to God_ that this wasn't exactly who he knew it must have been. But how could it have been anyone else? The man exuded _power_ the way Itachi exuded _money_. He didn't have the careless charisma of a spoiled trust fund baby, but he had the same cold and unwavering confidence that sometimes made his brother seem _intimidating_. Sasuke realized that he was, in fact, intimidated.

"You must be Sasuke," A voice of absolute velvet presumed, and it served as an actual reminder that yes, the twenty-year-old seated in complete and utter paralyses behind the desk was, in fact, named Sasuke. Right?

"Yes?" He answered, kicking himself for the fact that it blubbered stupidly out of his mouth like a fucking _question_. Like he didn't even know his fucking _name_. The man shut the door behind him and entered slowly, seating himself ( _displaying_ himself) on the smooth black leather loveseat that his father kept in this office.

Sasuke knew that his family was known for a rather regal presence and a strongly attractive bone structure – but this was just … ridiculous. The man looked like he was crafted to be a living fantasy of every possible feature someone could want, smashed into the chiseled body of one person, with a sturdy jaw slanting up into high cheekbones, wide almond eyes blinking tiredly over onyx irises. His gaze was intense, the way his own father's gaze was intense; as if he was always seeing further into the situation than what appeared at a surface level. His long hair was worn in a single braid, going _who knows_ how long down his back, but even from his well-maintained position, Sasuke could tell it was thick and … well, _luscious_ , for lack of a better term. He wanted to run his fingers through it for the rest of his life.

He needed to get laid. Very soon.

"You're um …" He's stricken with the belated realization that while Itachi had told him that the acting CEO was the chairman of their board, he had not mentioned the elder man by name. This was even further embarrassing because here Sasuke was, working in the _executive_ department of _his own family's_ company; and forced to admit that even standing face to face with the man – he did not actual know exactly who the chairman of their board _was_.

"Madara Uchiha. It's wonderful to finally meet you, Sasuke-Kun. I've heard so many good things," His eyes are going to burn a hole into Sasuke's soul, so he breaks their eye contact with an awkward clearing of the throat, wondering how it's possible to be this attracted to someone after having only just met. The man is older. Much _too_ old for him, he can tell. At least forty-five, and considering he'd already served and then _retired_ as CEO, probably much, _much_ older than he appeared. That was without noting that they were, however distantly, _related_ , and he should totally not be wondering what was under the crisply monogramed fabric of his great-grand-uncle-cousin-or-something's shirt. He focused his eyes to the small stitched _MU_ peeking out just below the intruder's cuff links, and tried to distract himself with different things the letters could possibly stand for.

 _Miraculous Universe_

"You must have expected food at orientation, have you had a chance to sneak out and find something to eat?" That beautiful, beautiful, _beautiful_ mouth actually had the audacity to move again and form more words, and it was unfair in light of the fact that Sasuke wasn't entirely certain that his own lips still possessed such advanced capabilities.

"Ah … Hm. No." Barely, but just enough to maintain his half of the conversation, he hoped.

 _Motive Undecided_

One leg crossed over the other, and it hoisted up the hem of the other's pants just enough for his socks to be visible between the obviously expensive fabric of his bottoms and the likely more expensive leather of his shoes. Pinstripe socks. There was something oddly classy about them that had Sasuke swallowing down _hard_ , and he almost missed the next thing the man said.

"Let me take you to breakfast. We'll be working very closely over the next year – it would be a shame for us to be strangers. Don't you think?"

It would be hell's cruelest shade of blasphemy for them to be strangers, Sasuke thought. Of course, that was on the list of about a thousand things that he was definitely not going to ever say out loud if he could help it. Madara's eyes aren't hopeful the way someone's expression is when they're actually asking a real question. They're more aggressive, somehow. Like he's already answered for himself and is just waiting for Sasuke to get on board. Sasuke finds himself on board for absolutely anything that this man suggests, and feels disturbingly akin to a schoolgirl wanting Senpai to notice her. Maybe he just read too much manga during his highly limited free time. Too much yaoi manga, specifically.

Despite his usual aversion to men that make decisions for him, he finds an odd comfort in knowing that the man he'll be working directly under for the next year of his life is comfortable taking charge. He nods his agreement to breakfast and agrees to meet in the lobby in ten minutes, claiming a need to use the restroom that was less an urge to urinate and more a desperate need to clear his head from this ridiculous and sudden infatuation.

It wasn't the first time he'd seen someone and felt this way, he recalled. Sasuke was gay in a society where to be so meant a world of complication, and had too much of a reputation to uphold for him to get any actual _exploring_ done. He'd had sex with a couple of women, but the entire affair had been messy at best, just a hot hole to shove himself into - little better than the inside of one of Itachi's nylon socks.

He would admit that he got a sick satisfaction out of using Itachi's things to masturbate. Not because he fantasized about Itachi, but because he liked the thought of defiling his elder brother's obnoxiously well-crafted mask of indestructible perfection. Neither Itachi _or_ Sasuke owned anything that would be suitable to satisfy his more … _personal_ sexual desires, however, and his fingers could only barely suffice.

Essentially, it was not uncommon for him to go from zero to a hundred on the scale of sexual attraction when he saw a man that he would _actually have sex with_ , considering the height of his standards, the poor mechanics of his usually embarrassingly inaccurate ' _gaydar_ ', and the fact that he was constantly, _always_ so God damned _busy_.

His trip to the bathroom proved useless by way of relaxing him, but informative nonetheless. He could overhear the women in the ladies lounge just next door, whispering scandalously about something that was apparently top-secret information.

"Did you see the one from _yesterday_? So young, I almost called his parents!" Curiosity thoroughly piqued, he leaned carefully against the wall, listening into the rest of their conversation with eager ears.

"That little faggot from the mail room? Tch, didn't you know-" Her words were muffled as someone else in the women's room turned on the sink, but Sasuke was just able to catch the end of it, "-why he retired so early: it was either move to the board or get voted out of his position as CEO. Who would want some _predator_ like that running such a prestigious company?"

Their voices, already low, faded completely as they made their way to the elevator, and Sasuke followed along behind them, managing to stop the door before it closed, and pressing his index finger against the _L_ for _Lobby_.

"Oh, Sasuke-Kun!" One of the women greeted, and Sasuke recognized her as his father's secretary, Tsunade. He smiled in her direction and gave a polite bow, hoping that the elevator would hurry up, since it was clear that they did not plan to continue whatever it was that they were gossiping about with him present. He was already running two minutes late, and something about Madara struck him as very _punctual_.

"Tsunade-San, how's it going?" He attempted, thinking perhaps he may want to do at least some mild exercising of his small talk skills before having to sit across from his disturbingly attractive boss for what could possibly be a _full hour_ of his life.

"How sweet of you to ask," She admired, never actually answering the question. Instead, a hand reached into rest on Sasuke's shoulder, and she leaned in closely, as if telling him a secret, "You be _careful_ with that new office of yours, Sasuke-Kun," She advised, giving him a look that was only direct enough for him to tell it was _supposed_ to be meaningful, although he didn't have the foggiest idea what exactly it meant, "I don't care _who_ it is, sweetheart – if anyone needs _straightening out_ , you come right to me and I'll get a hold of your father. Okay?"

He was getting more confused by the second, and when the elevator stopped before reaching the lobby to let her off at the third floor, he could offer her little more than a baffled half-smile in exchange for what was clearly quite the genuine concern. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He wouldn't pretend to understand, but he also wouldn't waste the opportunity to spend two more levels brooding over the concept that if he wanted to reach his own father, he should discuss that with the man's secretary. This had always been the case, for as long as he could remember – but it hadn't stung until recently when he'd noticed a text thread on Itachi's personal phone that made it grotesquely clear that _one_ son was worthy of Fugaku's personal mobile number. The other, apparently, was not.

Madara's smile when the elevator reached the lobby was warm and inviting in a way that caught Sasuke completely off guard. He'd assumed his superior had only invited him out as a courtesy, but it somehow seemed to come off more as a _kindness_ now. He couldn't quite pinpoint the difference in a way that he understood, but there definitely was one. It made him … shy, almost. Just a little bit unsettled in a way that was hard to shake.

"Well," He managed to utter out, smiling awkwardly up at his distant relative and trying his very best to _act natural_ , "Let's go!"

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 **A/N: Hope you guys liked this first chapter! Please feel free to let me know with a review and/or fave/subscription to the story.**

 **Love y'all!**

 **-B**


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